The present invention generally relates to tape cassette loading and unloading apparatuses, and more particularly to a tape cassette loading and unloading apparatus provided in a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus and having a holder which is inserted with a tape cassette and is moved into a predetermined loading position so that the tape cassette is loaded into a loading position where a magnetic recording or reproduction is carried out with respect to a magnetic tape accommodated within the tape cassette.
Generally, a tape cassette loading and unloading apparatus employed in a recording and/or reproducing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a video tape recorder or simply VTR) has a holder which is inserted with a tape cassette. The tape cassette has an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape with top and bottom surfaces respectively having a longer side and a shorter side, and a lid is provided on a front of the tape cassette along the longitudinal direction thereof. The tape cassette is inserted into the holder from the front of the tape cassette, and the holder moves the tape cassette into a predetermined loading position within the VTR. The VTR has a front face with an inserting opening through which the tape cassette is inserted, and this inserting opening has a width which is slightly larger than the longer side of the tape cassette. A plurality of manipulation switches for setting an operation mode of the VTR are also provided on the front face thereof.
When downsizing the conventional VTR having the above described construction, the manipulation switches are downsized so as to reduce a mounting space which is required on the front face of the VTR in order to mount the manipulation switches. However, in order to ensure satisfactory manipulation of the manipulation switches, there is a limit to the downsizing of the manipulation switches themselves. In addition, even when the manipulation switches are downsized, adjacent manipulation switches must be separated by a predetermined distance so as to prevent an erroneous manipulation of the manipulation switches, and there is therefore a limit to the downsizing of the mounting space on the front face of the VTR. Further, since the tape cassette is inserted into the VTR from the front of the tape cassette, the inserting opening on the front face of the VTR must have a width which is slightly larger than the longer side of the tape cassette. As a result, the front face of the VTR must at least have such an area that the inserting opening and the manipulation switches can be provided on the front face, and there is a problem in that there is a limit to the downsizing of the front face of the VTR.